


Oh The Bliss

by foofygoldfish



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Mostly Canon Compliant, Mostly Everyone Lives, more tags will be added as needed, pretty much everyone shows up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2019-10-23 04:42:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17676668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foofygoldfish/pseuds/foofygoldfish
Summary: Deputy Alice Riley is in over her head. The newest deputy of the Hope County's Sheriff Department is roped into helping serve the warrant against Joseph Seed, and inadvertently becomes the saviour (chaos-bringer?) of Hope County, despite her relationship with a certain Faith Seed.





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go, I'm attempting to write a multi-chapter fic. Wish me luck! This is going to be mostly canon-compliant, with the major missions happening. Diversions will happen with the Henbane's region, as, well, Alice is actively working against her girlfriend, who she is very much in love with, even if she can't bring herself to say the L word quite yet...

Alice wasn’t supposed to be here.

The feds - well, Marshal Burke - had been working with the Sheriff’s office for weeks. The list of people who would be serving the warrant had been solidified for weeks too - Hudson and Pratt, obviously - both excellent pilots, both experienced on the range, both were loyal to the department - as well as the Sheriff and Lieutenant Whitehorse.

She was never on the list.

But then… Erin got the flu, and the Sheriff told her that she would be a liability.

So… Now she’s here, despite all of Burke’s objections.

Valid ones, she thought.

Everyone in the county knew - or at least had heard the rumors - of Faith Seed’s girlfriend.

That wasn’t the only reason Alice thought this mission was a bad idea: her mother had abandoned her and her brother for the cult when they first moved to town, and her sister was married to _John Fucking Seed_. She knew what the cult could do. The power they had.

Nothing could change the mind of the Marshal, though, and now… they were flying over the county at 2 in the goddamn morning, on their way to arrest Joseph.

Against her better judgement, she queued up the video again. The vloggers had been at Mary May’s a few weeks before - it wasn’t hard to forget the strangers, asking too many questions about things the peggies wanted kept quiet. Alice knew they couldn’t have survived their trip into the county, not after the way the video ended… But at least it drew attention to the county. Something _good_ might come of it.

“Riley, stop wasting your battery. You know there’s no signal out here.”

Alice sighed, sliding her phone back into her pocket. They were over the Henbane - _Faith’s region_ \- now. Any second now…

“Fuck, there he is. We’re _officially_ in Peggie country.” Joey sounded… Annoyed. Rightfully so.

Marshal Burke looked up from the warrant to stare at the large statue of Joseph. “How long till we’re there?”

“Long enough for you to change your mind.”

“Sheriff, are you asking me to ignore a federal warrant?”

“Sir, I’m asking you to understand the reality of the situation. We’ve had run-ins with them before, and I can tell you that this is one of those times where it’s best to leave it alone.” Sheriff Whitehorse had gone over this, and Alice’s loyalties, although neither of the men thought she knew, many times over the past week. It was easy to tell the two were both tired of the argument, but neither would back down.

The Marshal wanted to bring the law down on Joseph Seed. The Sheriff wanted to protect the people of his county, even if it meant playing it safe and staying on the defensive. He knew how bad it could get.

“We have laws for a _reason_ , Sheriff. Joseph Seed needs to know he can’t buy his way out of them.”

Alice sighed, placing her head against the helicopter’s window. “John. John’s the one who buys the cult’s way out of shit.”

The Sheriff gave her a sharp look, before leaning back to ask Pratt to open a line to dispatch.

“Go ahead, Earl.” It was always weird to hear the Sheriff’s first name - ever since she was a kid, he’d just been _Sheriff_. Or Whitehorse. It depended on who she was with, but no-one in her family ever used his first name. Nancy did, apparently.

“We’re approaching the compound, Nancy.”

“Roger. Are you still planning on going through with this?” The woman sounded unsure - just strange enough for Alice to take note, but it easily could have come from fear. This was easily the biggest thing that the department had been involved in since its formation: typically, they just patrolled the roads or kept an eye on festivals. Nothing _big_ .

Alice had her doubts, though, of Nancy’s allegiances: she never overtly supported the cult, nor did she disobey direct orders from either of the Whitehorses, but little things - ignoring calls from non-Peggies, her discomfort while Alice shit-talked the Seed brothers with her other coworkers… So many little things.

It would be easy to say it really was just fear. But… Something in her said it wasn’t, that Nancy was truly worried for the Father.

“Still trying to talk sense into the Marshal.” The Sheriff looked directly at her when he said that, and she shrugged back at him. She’d tried to talk sense into him. Burke just questioned her loyalties in return.

“He’s lucky I’m not there.” Nancy paused. “Let me know if you get into any trouble. Over.”

After ending the call, Pratt leaned back and winked at Alice. “Maybe we should have brought Nancy instead of Allie! The Peggies wouldn’t fuck with her!”

Before she could say anything, Hudson slapped Pratt’s arm. She made a mental note to yell at her old friend later. If there _was_ a later. Fuck, this was terrifying.

She went back to staring out the window, fiddling with the phone in her pocket, desperately trying to think of anything _but_ the fact that Faith, _her Faith_ would likely be at the compound. In the corner of her mind, she heard the Marshal and Sheriff Whitehorse bickering, the former asking if the Sheriff was _scared_.

Of course, she thought. Why wouldn’t we be scared?

Before anyone could answer the Marshal, Pratt announced that they were landing.

The compound looked weird from the air - she’d been there a few times with her sister, back before things got _really_ tense, but Jane had always ushered her to the church as quickly as possible, never giving her the chance to look around.

“Last chance, Marshal.” A tinge of desperation was in the Sheriff’s voice - she looked at him, worried, and frowned.

Burke sighed, and a look of determination came over his face. “We’re going in.”

“Set her down.” The Sheriff looked behind him when neither Pratt or Hudson responded. “Pratt.”

“Roger that.”

Her coworkers looked concerned. They knew to follow orders, and they had been in on the plan for long enough to accept it, but… They were worried.

Alice herself was glad that the Marshal had chosen the middle of the night to serve the warrant. There would be people at Joseph’s sermon, yes, but… Most of the Peggies would be asleep, even with the noise of the helicopter landing at the compound.

“Dispatch. If you don’t hear from us in fifteen minutes, send in everyone. Call the National Guard if you need to. Over.”

“Yessir. I’ll be praying for you.” Nancy’s response shouldn’t have set off alarm bells - it was a common enough statement in these parts, but… She’d always been wary of the other woman.

Whitehorse gave them three rules as they exited the helicopter: Stay close, keep the guns ready, and let him do the talking.

The walk to the church was terrifying. Peggies lined the path, all armed, some with things that looked suspiciously like flamethrowers, and Hudson, noticing the rookie’s eyes darting about, told her to stick close. The Sheriff tried to calm the peggies, but it seemed to only agitate them more.

The Marshal and the Sheriff opened the doors at the same time, to a chorus of Amazing Grace. Joseph seemed to greet them with open arms: he finished a sermon, or mad rant, Alice couldn’t tell, his words echoing all around them.

“Joseph Seed, we have a warrant for your arrest.” The church fell silent, as all present listened to the Marshal’s words. She wished he had listened to the Sheriff - not that Whitehorse would do _much_ better, but… He may have been able to calm the crowds. Maybe. “On the suspicion of kidnapping with the intent to harm. Step forward and keep your hands where I can see them.”

Angry murmurs and shouts erupted from the congregation as Joseph rose his hands. Gun-weilding guards gathered in front of him, forming a wall between the officers and the Seed siblings, with more and more angry Peggies surrounding them. Joseph calmed them, amazingly, and motioned for the crowds to disperse.

She wished they hadn’t.

The movement allowed her to properly see the siblings gathering upon the dias: Jacob, crossing his arms and shaking his head, John, smug as always, sure that something would stop his brother from being taken, and Faith… Alice couldn’t look at her.

They’d talked about this possibility before.

That didn’t make her heart hurt any less.

“Rookie - cuff this son of a bitch.” The Marshal looked at her, a smug look that could rival John’s upon his face. She gave the Sheriff a panicked look, who gave her a reassuring nod, and then… Faith. Her girlfriend was smiling, yes, but her eyes - they were full of venom.

“God will not let you take me.”

Moving her gaze towards Joseph, she took a deep breath, reaching for the handcuffs the Marshal was holding.

The walk from the helicopter to the church seemed like a fucking cakewalk compared to the walk back. Alice was given the honor of escorting the Father, and it seemed like everyone at the compound (was... That her mother? _fuck_.) was out trying to stop them from taking their leader. Amazing Grace played from the speakers on a loop, and someone in her group - she’s not sure who - yelled to close the doors as Peggies started to climb aboard, pulling at Joseph’s arms, the deputies pants, the Sheriff’s shirt -

Then -

Everything was falling.

When Alice came to, it was to the sound of the Father singing Amazing Grace. That _fucking_ song - she loved it once, but now? Not so much. Over the noise of the flames and cheering cultists, she heard Nancy talking to Joseph.

Fuck.

She was right. Nancy was one of them.

Fuck.

This was doomed from the start, wasn’t it?

_Fuck_.

Escaping the helicopter was a blur: Joseph was in her face, then she was on the ground - did she do that? Did he? Hudson? Hudson had been sitting next to her, but she couldn’t remember when anyone else left the helicopter - Joseph said something about a Reaping? And then she was running, running as fast as she could through the trees and underbrush. Where? She didn't know. Away from the cultists, from the fire, from the gunfire echoing behind her.

Away from Faith, who had watched her leave, yet had made no move to follow her.

She knew Faith wasn’t going to follow her - the Peggies were enough. The Heralds wouldn’t stoop so low as to chase a runaway in the woods.

Part of her wanted to go back, just to talk to Faith, to explain herself. But… She couldn’t.

At some point, she came upon a trailer - one that appeared empty, despite the guns piled outside and the roaring fire in the yard. Alice didn’t dare go in, deciding to hide between a bush and the trailer’s shed to catch her breath.

“Hello? Anyone hearing me? It’s Burke. Hello?” He sounded terrified. Of course he did - they all were. “I think I lost them. I found a trailer. If you made it out, meet me there.”

Alice’s head darted up and she saw movement in one of the structure’s windows. Slowly, trying to still her shaking hands, she clicked the button on her radio. “Marshal Burke?”

“Oh, fuck. Riley. Where are you?”

She shouldn’t say, part of her knew that - she wasn’t worried about the Marshal being a traitor, but it wasn’t a secure frequency… “Is it a white trailer? With a fire?”

The man sighed in relief. “Yeah.”

“‘M on my way.”

Praying she had a lead on the Peggies that had been following her, Alice darted across the open area, skidding through the door the Marshal opened for her.

“Fuck, I thought I lost you.” He pulled her down the hall, motioning for her to help him check the rooms. The trailer was clear, thank God, and the pair met in the living room. “Jesus, I had no idea. _Fuck!_ Fuckin’ _lunatics_! We’re puttin’ them all away.”

Well, yeah.

That was the hope.

She didn’t dare tell him that maybe, just maybe, they came in unprepared, that he was the only one on the helicopter that expected things to go according to plan.

He glanced at the painting on the wall, ripping it down and spitting on it. “Fucking… Fuck.”

“Marshal - we -” We need to move. We need to keep moving. Staying still - now that they’ve caught their breath, now that they’ve processed what’s happening - was a horrible idea.

Wordlessly, he grabbed a shotgun from the gun safe, tossing it and a box of ammo in her direction.

She accepted it. Her pistol - it wouldn’t do much against this many people. As much as she didn’t want to use them, it was a good idea to have multiple weapons.

“Is Faith going to be a problem?”

“What?”

“The Sheriff told me. You and her.”

Oh.

“Riley. Is this going to be a problem?”

Fuck. “No.”

He gave her a look. “What about your family?”

“Whitehorse wouldn’t have let me come if it was. Look - I hate the Peggies as much as you. Let’s just… We need to move. Please.”

The Marshal frowned, then looked out the window. “Okay. We need to get to the truck - gotta go northeast, get to Missoula. We’ll grab the fuckin’ National Guard, get them back here and --”

Shouting.

_Fuck_.

Alice placed her hand on the Marshal’s arm, then nodded that she’d go to one of the windows. It had a horrible view, but it was still better than being outside…. She swore when she saw how many there were - at least ten, and who knew how many were waiting for them in the trees.

She didn’t notice the Marshal leaving the trailer till it was too late - the quiet “cover me!” had been masked by the sound of an exploding barrel in the yard (from her? Possibly? There were so many people shooting that it was hard to tell), and then - he was outside. _Fuck_. She aimed at the Peggies aiming at Burke, taking them down one by one, until, between the two of them, the yard was clear.

“Hey! I have the keys! Let’s go!” Alice ran out after him, and jumped into the passenger side. For one terrifying second, the truck didn’t roll over, and then they were barreling through the gates. Peggies kept coming after them, but Burke didn’t care - he drove over some, while Alice hung out the window ( _going to regret that later, she can already feel the bruises - ),_ shooting out the tires of the ATVs and trucks following them. Burke shouted out warnings to her when they approached roadblocks, dragging her back into the cab by the back of her shirt if she didn’t hear him.

“Look, I know a back road we can take out of the county - it’s not much, but it’s… It’s a way out.” Alice sighed, leaning back while she reloaded her gun. Burke gave her a look, and she shrugged. “My family has lived here for decades. Used to know those trails like the back of my hand. It should still be there -- fuck!”

Another roadblock was ahead - the biggest yet, a semi truck blocking all the lanes, and a few fucking gun trucks. Burke swore and jerked the wheel, sideswiping a few of the trucks, and sending them down a steep hill.

“Kid, check the bed, I think I saw some explosives back there.”

Alice stared at him, and once she realised he wasn’t kidding, she reached out the window and grabbed a stick of dynamite from behind her. Fuck, she was going to have so many bruises tomorrow. If she makes it to tomorrow. Fuck.

She said a small prayer as she threw the dynamite. It didn’t hit one of the vehicles pursuing them - but she heard a crunch as a truck swerved, hitting an abandoned train car.

Of _fucking_ course, the explosion drew the attention of more Peggies. And a plane. Of fucking course. (Did that peggie say John was there? Was that John _fucking_ Seed?) Somehow, Burke made it to a bridge, and they swore in unison when they realised they had driven into a trap. A roadblock behind them, more Peggies in front of them, John coming in for a second time...

She heard Burke yell her name again before everything went white and the truck was airborne.

It was cold. Why was it cold? And wet? And so bright? It’s three in the morning - oh. Spotlights. She’s in the water. Why?

When everything started to go dark, she saw a hand reaching for her, pulling her out of the water.


	2. Chapter 2

Alice groaned. What the fuck happened? The radio was playing - some message by Joseph Seed. She and the Marshal had the radio off…

_Wait._

Memories of the crash flooded her mind, and she realised - she was on the ground, tied to a bed. Just as she started to panic, the man on the other side of the room flipped off the radio and turned to face her.

“You know what that shit means? It means the roads have been closed, the phones won’t work, nothing is getting in or out of this county.” The man - Dutch Roosevelt, she realised - sat in a chair next to her as she struggled to sit up, to even out her breathing. “Mostly, it means we’re fucked. They think their fucking collapse is happening, that what they’re waiting for is happening - the world is ending. They’ve been waiting for someone to kick off their fucking Holy War, and you and your buddies sure as shit did it.” He sighed and leaned forward, hand reaching for a knife on his belt. “The smart thing for me to do would be to turn you in. But… Fuck.”

He unsheathed the knife, cutting the ropes around her wrists. “Get outta that uniform. Peggies will see it coming from a mile away. There should be something about your size in the corner. Come see me when you’ve changed. Let’s see if we can un-fuck this somehow.”

Alice nodded. She waited for him to leave before slowly tucking her feet underneath her. Her first attempt at standing up didn’t go well - it didn’t feel like a concussion, but fuck, her head hurt, and she sure as fuck had bruises everywhere. Dutch must have had her tied to that bed for a while, too, judging from how stiff she was.

After waiting a few minutes, she slowly stood up and walked to the lockers in the corner. Dutch was right about the clothes - the red flannel was too big, but wearable, and the jeans fit like a glove. She kept her tank top and boots - she would need to be able to shed layers during the day, and the boots… Recognizable, but they were practical, and already broken in. There was no chance she would be able to get back to town in a car without being stopped, so… That was important. Miraculously, her phone was still in her pocket. She could check and see if it worked later - not that she expected the cult to have left the cell towers alone. If they were willing to jump into helicopter blades for Joseph? Yeah, anything was possible.

As she was leaving the room, she heard a radio crackle to life across the hall, in what looked like an infirmary. “Hello? Is anyone there? The Peggies just rolled in like a fucking army! They’re throwing people in trucks, taking our food… Now I can’t hear anything but gunfire. People are dying. If someone’s out there, please, help us!” She knew that voice. How did she know that voice? “I don’t know how much longer we can hold out. Please. If you have a gun, come down to Fall’s End. John Seed’s got the whole town. Pastor Jerome and I will do whatever we can. Eden’s Gate won’t take us alive.”

Mary May.

It was Mary May.

How did she not recognize her voice?

Alice and Mary May had been friends since they were toddlers - they had drifted apart when she moved to California, but had quickly become close again after she moved back to town. Mary May had been the first she had told about her relationship with Faith, the first she had told about her sister being pregnant, about _everything_. If the cult had Fall’s End… Fuck.

Her sister.

Fuck.

Where was Jane? Safe, she hoped - she should have closed up the auto shop hours before Alice left to meet everyone at the station, let alone before the helicopter landed at the compound. If she was with John… Well, as much as she hates the man, Jane would be safe there. Nobody on either side of this whole thing would dare to touch her when she was with him.

When the radio went silent, Alice went back into the hall - she wasn’t sure where the man had gone, but it looked like there weren’t many options. The hall only had four rooms off of it, plus another hallway, and she’d already been in two. She peeked in one of them, and only saw bunks - it looked like it was ready for a family, but who knows if they would ever make it to the bunker. The realisation she was in a bunker wasn’t fun - she’s not claustrophobic, but… she definitely is, let’s be honest. She found the man in the last room, surrounded by CCTV monitors, maps of the region, and what looked like information on the four Seed siblings.

He ignored her as she peered at the signs, looking closely at the lists under each picture.

Faith’s was… Not good.

The note said she was a liar, she’d use the bliss against anyone she came across, and most worryingly, that she was in a relationship with someone in the county. He didn’t know _who_ , thank God, but… Alice was suddenly glad that she and Faith had agreed to tell as few people as possible. Plenty had figured it out on their own, of course - they had gone on dates in the county, but overall? Not many people had _cared_.

"You’re a quiet one, aren’t you?”

She jumped and turned back towards the man. “No… Just…”

“Terrified?”

“And my head hurts.”

“There’s pain medicine on the desk. Help yourself.” The man laughed. “I didn’t properly introduce myself back there.” No shit. “Most folks call me Dutch.”

“I know.”

He raised his eyebrow. “I’ve been trying to piece together what’s going on up top. Doesn’t look good. Sounds like your partners are alive, for now. The Seeds have split them up. One to each of the siblings.”

Dutch shrugged. “I don’t know who went where. Look, I get it, you want them back - I got friends that have been taken. There’s no help comin’, though. Nobody on the outside knows what’s happening, and with communications down, there’s no way to tell them.

“That’s not true - there were videos.”

“How worried did that make people?” Dutch looked at her. “You said there were five of you?”

“Oh.” The video she was watching on the way in - it had millions of views, but… The commenters all thought it was a joke or viral marketing. Nothing serious. The view that believed it either didn’t have any way to do anything, or they were already in Hope County.

“There’s people here willing to fight back. We just…. We just need to show ‘em that we can. We can build a resistance.” Alice thought of the people in Fall’s End - Mary May would fight, and if Pastor Jerome was fighting now, she knew he’d help. She had to get to them first, though. “First things first, we have to get control of this island. Get some breathing room. Then we can get more people on our side. There’s a gun in the safe - take it. I’ll call you on your radio once you get outside.”

She nodded, and picked up the handgun, grateful for its size. She lost her pistol and the shotgun when the truck went over the bridge, and even though she hated using the guns? The weight of it was comforting.

Before she left, she turned to Dutch. “So… How long was I out?”

Dutch shrugged. “A day? It’s 5. In the morning.. I wouldn’t leave yet, if I were you. You look like a train hit you.”

“I fuckin’ feel like it. Look, I appreciate the help, I do - but… Mary May needs help. Fall’s End… Somethin’ happened.”

“Up to you.” He nodded at the safe, behind her, then turned away. “Take a radio, if you’re goin’. I got eyes all over the county. You could use my help.”

The exit was easy to find. With a deep breath, she slowly opened the doors, glad that it was still dark out.

“What now?”

Dutch’s voice crackled over the radio, directing her to the locations Peggies had claimed. It was easy work, clearing them out, though - unsettlingly - the shadow of Faith appeared as she ensured that the two shrines would be unusable, and that the Peggies surrounding them wouldn’t be getting back up.

Killing… It wasn’t something Alice ever thought she would do.

She didn’t have time to process it yet, though, as focused as she was on getting home to Fall’s End and helping her friends. She had time to think later.

There wasn’t an _easy_ way to town - even from her vantage point at the top of the radio tower, it was easy to see the roadblocks and increased number of Peggie trucks on the roads. There was a boat, but it was too risky to take that, except to get across the river. _Fuck_. She’d have to walk, maybe steal a Peggie truck if she found one. If not - the back roads should be fine, the ones that went through Rae-Rae’s fields and past the Strickland’s.

_Should_ being the key word.

It’s not like anything had been according to plan the last few days. Who knew if this one would?

* * *

Alice made it to Rae-Rae’s too late.

She had been creeping down the trail behind the farm, confident that Rae-Rae would be able to defend herself, or at the very least, barricade her family in their bunker until help could arrive. Her stomach dropped when she heard a short barrage of bullets, then… Nothing.

From her vantage on the hill just behind the small silo, she could see that Boomer - the poor dog - was in a cage, growling at the surrounding peggies. There was no sign of Rae-Rae or Russell.

That could be good. They might be in their bunker, safe, and just weren’t able to get Boomer in with them. She knew that was too hopeful, though, and that the gunshots…

Taking a deep breath, she slowly crept through the yard, knocking down each Peggie she saw.

She didn’t dare look at the two bodies next to the front door of the house.

It was obvious who they were.

But she couldn’t think.

Rae-Rae’s farm held so many memories for her - when she was a kid, her dad brought her and her siblings out every fall to pick pumpkins, and her first job was helping Russell with the farm stand. Rae-Rae… She was one of the people who waved her and Caleb off when they moved away, and her and her husband had helped her clean the house up when she moved back to town the year before.

But until she was sure the Peggies weren’t going to get back up? She couldn’t think.

Quietly, after unlocking the cage holding Boomer, she followed him over to his humans and cried.

* * *

Later, after dealing with another round of Peggies and burying Rae-Rae and Russell, Alice climbed into one of the Peggie’s trucks, Boomer in the seat next to her.

It felt dangerous, going on the main road.

_Really_ dangerous.

But it’d been hours since Mary May sent that message, and it’d take her close to an hour to get back to town if everything went well.

With her hair covered with one of Rae-Rae’s scarves and driving a Peggie truck? She should be able to avoid drawing the attention of any roaming Peggies.

“Fuckin’ roadblocks.”

Boomer whined as Alice jerked the wheel to the side, quickly turning onto a side road.

“God, my cats are gonna be pissed.” She glanced at him, then swore and slowed the truck down when she saw a column of smoke rising from Strickland Farm. “Fuck, If I even _make_ it home.”

They didn’t notice her.

Thank _God_.

It didn’t look like there was anything she could have done, anyways - the barn was on fire, and there were a handful of jeering Peggies standing around it. No sign of the Strickland’s themselves.

Mr. Dodd’s house looked fine, as did St. Isadore’s. Alice paused there, pulling the car into the school’s yard.

“Hey boy, can you lemme know if you see anyone?” The dog barked in reply, following her out of the cab.

This probably wasn’t her best idea - but if she remembered correctly, St. Isadore’s had an _amazing_ view of the valley. It was a stretch, since she didn’t have binoculars, but… Yeah. There was.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw heavy smoke coming from town. At least one building was on fire, maybe more.

_Shit shit shit shit_ **_shit_ **.

Carefully, Alice slid back down to the ground, and ran for the truck.

She didn’t take it much farther, ditching it in the woods behind Redd’s Farm Supply. It was too risky to take it any farther, even if it would mean she’d take longer to get to town.

* * *

Fuck.

_Fuck._

**_Fuck_ **.

The fire - it was too close to her house for comfort.

_Way_ too close.

The other houses - she could see them, they were abandoned anyways.

But the fire behind the trees? Close to the Spread Eagle? _Fuck_.

She couldn’t focus on that. She wanted to.

But… She could see Mary May, tied up outside the bar, with a Peggie pointing a gun at her head.

It was easy to take that one out - she threw a rock, distracting him, and Mary May did the rest. All Alice had to do was cut the ropes binding her hands.

Fuck, she loved her friend.

“Took you long enough.” Mary May grinned at Alice, pulling her into a hug.

“Oh yeah, yeah, you’re welcome. Jesus, what the fuck happened?”

Mary May shrugged. “I’ll fill you in later. Last I saw Pastor Jerome, he was by the church.”

Alice nodded, running behind the bar - part of her almost cried with relief when she saw that the garage was fine, her house was fine, it wasn’t her house on fire - and slowly crept for the church.

Boomer being with her made this easier - she knocked them down, he got their weapons, and brought them to her so she could toss them away.

She didn’t have it in her to kill anyone.

Mary May did, and Pastor Jerome too, once she was able to get close to him.

Even when she disabled the plane that attacked the town - she managed to shoot out an engine, and the pilot crash-landed outside of town.

It was dark by the time Alice finally, _finally_ was able to go home.

The town was clear of debris, the Peggies moved to a locked room in the back of the church, and the wounded given what medical attention they could be given.

She couldn’t go home, though.

Something was stopping her.

She could _hear_ the cats from their spot just inside the window, but… She couldn’t go in.

So much had changed since she was last there. It’d only been two days… but...

“Hey.”

Alice spun around, launching herself into Mary May’s arms.

“Come on. You stink.”

Later, she fell asleep curled into Mary May’s side, her cats purring next to her head, and Faith on her mind.

_Faith_.

This was going to suck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh. The thing about Rae-Rae? That's totally SolidHawk's fault. She's the one who pointed it out to me.


	3. Chapter 3

Early the next morning, Alice was woken by Mary May.

“Hey. I know you wanna sleep but -”

She buried her head under her pillow, groaning.

Mary May frowned. “It’s Grace. Something’s going on at the Lamb of God.”

“Why’s it gotta be me?” When Mary May didn’t respond, she sighed. “Okay, okay, gimme five minutes. Gotta put on pants. Ugh.”

“I’ll get you something you can eat on the go.”

Part of Alice didn’t want to go out - she was still processing everything that happened, that she didn’t know where one of her best friends was (fuck, Staci --) or where her mentors… Joey could handle herself. She knew that. So could Whitehorse - she didn’t  _ need  _ to worry about them. And the Marshal? Well, go ahead and sue her for being a little bitter.

That didn’t stop her.

On the other hand - if  _ Grace _ needed help? That was  _ bad _ .

Quickly, Alice got dressed, remembering to actually grab her glasses this time, suddenly glad that she had forgotten them when she had left the house the other day. Mary May shoved a hash brown into her hand, giving Alice a sharp look when she tried to protest.

The drive to the Lamb of God was harrowing: Peggie roadblocks were everywhere, on almost every road in and out of town, making her glad she had left her truck at home. The thing was a  _ tank _ , but there was no way it would be able to go off-road like her borrowed dirtbike could. 

The churchyard was eerily silent when she arrived.

There were Peggies surrounding the building, sure, but… Nobody was talking. Grace was nowhere to be seen.

A glimmer of green appeared in the corner of her eyes when she aimed for the knee of the closest Peggie.

“Faith. Not now.”

“You’re being kind to them.”

“Yeah. I am.”

“Why?”

Alice gave her girlfriend an incredulous look before turning back and aiming for another Peggie. “Why should I kill them? They - half the people in your church? They’re from here. I  _ know _ them. I don’t  _ want _ to kill people, Faith. I just… Grace is in trouble. I gotta help her.”

Faith frowned when a shot rang from the church’s belltower, eyes searching for the source of the noise. “I don’t think she needs help.”

“Can we talk about…” Alice paused. “Can we talk about all of this later? Please?”

When she looked back, Faith was gone.

“Hey! I need your help!” Alice jerked her head up, staring at Grace, who was waving from the belltower. “More of ‘em are coming in!”

“On it!” Alice yelled back. Fuck. There were a  _ lot _ of them - in reality, there weren’t that many, but… They all had automatic rifles, and she just had her borrowed pistol. She ducked behind the retaining wall, peeking out when the Peggies paused to reload, taking the seconds of calm to return fire.

It didn’t take the two of them long to clear out the attackers. When Grace was sure that they were clear, she called down to Alice, telling her to join her in the belltower.

Alice stared at the ladder, swearing under her breath. Heights weren’t really her thing - Nick made sure to tease her about that every time they met. Hiking along a mountain ridge? That’s about her limit. A steep roof? Nah.

At the top, she carefully made her way the few feet to the bell-less belltower.

“How good of a shot are you?” Grace had her back turned, watching the road for more trucks.

Alice shrugged. “Decent? Not as good as you.”

Grace sighed and turned to face her. “Name’s -- I know you.”

“Yeah. My family owns the garage in town. I’m Alice. Riley.”

“Huh. Heard someone was making life miserable for the cult. Didn’t think it’d be you.” Grace glanced out over the road again, before looking back at Alice. “You okay with this?”

“Do I have a choice?” She rubbed the back of her neck, sighing. “What’s goin’ on?”

“You have good timing. Cult’s after the graves of some war heroes. My pops is down there. The Peggies are trying to defile the memorials. Demoralize us, make us give in to them. Not on my fucking watch. Nobody’s touching my pops’ grave, not while I’m here. I just need someone to watch my back.”

“I can do that. I’m a shit sniper, but up close, I’m decent.”

“Need more than decent.”

Alice grinned at Grace. “Didn’t you just say I was giving the cult hell?”

Grace rolled her eyes. “Go down and make sure the fuckin’ Peggies don’t get to the graves. The one in the middle, with the flag? That’s my pops.”

“Got it.” Alice turned to leave, then paused. “Glad you’re still here, Grace.” In more ways than one, she thought.

“Too stubborn to kill. So they say.”

Alice laughed before inching her way back down the ladder.

From her radio, Grace directed her to where the Peggies were: first the south-east, then she dashed to the other end of the graveyard, and then… Everywhere at once. Fuck.

They were a good team, though, with Alice getting their knees or hips or - well, anywhere that wasn’t lethal, and Grace ensuring they wouldn’t get back up. A few times, she wished she had brought Boomer with her. The thought of putting the dog in harm’s way made her sick, but  _ fuck  _ there were a lot of Peggies. She just barely missed being shot a few times, once while distracted by a tell-tale cloud of green smoke across the road. Another time, a guy with a  _ flamethrower _ started chasing her - she escaped the worst of the flames, but she knew she would have to dig out some burn cream when she got home again. A bullet whizzed by her at one point, just barely grazing her leg. Fucking  _ ow _ .

Eventually,  _ eventually _ , the Peggies stopped coming, and Grace made her way down to meet her.

“Thanks. Woulda been tough without you.”

Alice gave her a weary smile. “Not a problem.”

“I owe you one.” Grace took off her hat, wiping her forehead with her sleeve. “Not many people left around here that would have stuck their neck out for me. Means a lot.”

“Those dicks are crazy. I --”

“Don’t get started on the Olympain thing.”

“Well, I  _ was _ going to say that my sister hated you, so you  _ have  _ to be cool. But if you want me to talk about the Olympics…” The sniper rolled her eyes at that. “Anyways, we all haveta look out for each other now. We’re pretty much outnumbered, right? That’s what Mary May said.”

Grace sighed. “Not everyone sees it that way. Everyone’s been trying to get the hell outta Dodge. My pops would agree with you, though. Look, if you ever need help…”

“Yeah.” Alice looked down at her pistol, sliding it back into her holster. “I need a fucking drink. Wanna come with?”

Grace smiled, and the two climbed into a truck the Peggies had left.

On the way back to town, Alice saw a familiar yellow plane taking off.

“Looks like the Rye’s are headin’ out.” She sighed, leaning her face against the window. Even though she gave Nick shit - she’d miss them.

Grace frowned, peering out the window. “Good. Not good for Kim to be here right now.”

“Yeah…” As town came into view, Alice looked at Grace. “Hey. Do you have anywhere to go?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, your house - I…”

Grace’s face darkened. 

They had driven past the Armstrong’s house on the way to town. Grace didn’t bother to stop when she saw the flames, nor the pack of Peggies standing in the yard.

“If you wanna, you can stay with me. I’ve got plenty of room, you can… You can stay till, well, whenever you wanna leave. You don’t haveta decide now, you can let me know whenever. Or something. I just… I have space. And cats. And Boomer, too.”

“Boomer?”

Oh.

How many people knew Rae-Rae was gone?  _ Shit. _

As they slowed to a stop next to Alice’s house, she explained what had happened the day before. It clearly upset Grace - she knew that Rae-Rae and Grace had been close, and… Well, Grace had lost so much already.

* * *

 

When they got to the Spread Eagle, Boomer just inches from Alice’s side, Mary May was still moving bottles the store room. She stopped when they came in, putting her hands on her hips.

Alice groaned. “Mary May Fairgrave, I do  _ not _ like that look.”

“What do ya think of some free moonshine?”

She crossed her arms. “What’s the catch?”

“Help me clean up the bar?”

Grace looked at the boxes already behind the bar, then to the dust covering the furniture scattered around the room. “Sure.”

Alice gaped at Grace. “Nooooo. Don’t volunteer me for this!”

“Too late!” Mary May laughed. “Pretty much all that’s left is dusting. Pastor Jerome helped me get the alcohol down here after the fires were put out.”

Grace laughed as Alice grumbled and grabbed a dust rag.

Two hours later, she sighed, carefully swishing the vodka in her glass. “Fuck. Okay. Maybe it was worth it. You even have the real shit.”

“Emphasis on the shit.” Grace laughed, taking a long drink from her glass.

Alice shrugged. “Eh, it does the job. And it wasn’t made in a bathtub.”

“It’s not bathtub moonshine!” Mary May shouted from the bar. “It’s from a barrel, thank you very much!”

The three of them laughed, enjoying the moment of peace.

“I never forgot about you, y’know.” Alice looked at Grace, leaning back in the booth.

The other woman raised her eyebrows.

“You stopped at the shop before your parade. My mom had me working the register that day.”

“Please don’t remind me.” Grace buried her face in her hand, groaning.

“You looked miserable!” Alice laughed, and nudged the half-empty bottle in front of them. “Fuckin’ hell. Yeah, you saved my ass with those fuckin’ balloons, my mom woulda killed me if they flew away….” She sighed. “You were at the funeral, too. My dad’s.”

“I remember.”

“Miserable fuckin’ day.” Alice watched Mary May come over to the table with a pitcher of water and made a face. “You coulda been at home and warm and  _ dry _ , why’d you come?”

Grace looked up, staring at something above Alice’s head. “Your dad was a good guy. Him and my pops were friends. It… Felt right. Not somethin’ I should miss.”

Alice hummed. “You were the only one who meant what you said. ‘Sides the Fairgraves, maybe the Drubman kid too. I could tell.”

The two fell into silence, both slowly drinking the water.

It was mid-afternoon when the radio squawked to life, a panicked Nick broadcasting across the empty bar.

“Damnit, hello? It’s Nick Rye.” Alice and Mary May glanced at each other, worried - was it Kim? The baby? Did they have to come back for some reason? “The cult’s at our doorstep and I think they took Carmina! We need backup, we can’t hold out much longer!”

“Aw, fuck.” Alice sighed. “Mary May, can you --”

“Yuuup, let me get my keys.”

* * *

 

Between Alice and Mary May, it didn’t take long to clear out the handful of Peggies surrounding the Rye’s house, and for a panicked Nick to fill them in.

Yes, they (he)  _ wanted _ to leave Hope County - they were planning on leaving today, that’s why Carmina was out. But, obviously, that was  _ not _ Nick in the plane. 

It was Alice’s favorite brother-in-law.

Yay.

So now - Alice was creeping behind John’s obnoxious mansion, trying to avoid catching the attention of the Peggies who were lucky enough to land a job patrolling there.

Later, she would have to remind John to tell his people to patrol the  _ back  _ of the house. If she ever got a chance to talk to him, that is.

The hangar was almost  _ too _ easy to enter. One bored Peggie guarded the control for the doors, and Alice easily knocked him out. 

Actually getting in the air?  _ That _ was a different matter.

Alice knew how to fly.

Sorta.

Nick had insisted that she take at least  _ one  _ lesson - and that’s exactly what she did. One lesson.

When she was stone-cold sober and didn’t have Peggies actively shooting at her and Carmina.

As soon as she was clear of the runway, she radioed Nick.

“You  _ mother _ fucker.”

“Alice! Hell yeah! Just go north, we can celebrate when you get back here!”

“I’m not going to fucking celebrate, Nick, why the fuck did you send  _ me _ to get your  _ fucking _ plane?” Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. “God, I’m going to be fuckin’ sick. Fuck.”

“You’re doing great, Allie. Just… Get back here. Look, I’m gonna guide you - just follow the river.”

Alice took a deep breath, focusing on the controls, carefully following every step the man told her to take, and objecting when Nick told her to take out a Bliss tanker on her way back to his runway.

Carmina had barely come to a stop when Alice rocketed out of the plane, running for the closest bush to puke in.

A sheepish Nick came up to her when she was done, and handed her a glass of water. “Thanks for gettin’ her.”

“I’m never going in a plane again. Ever. I swear to god.” Alice groaned. “How’s Kim?”

He sighed, looking around the yard. “She’s good. We’re gonna head out before it gets worse. I’m gonna miss this place.”

Alice took another sip of the water, then started when Kim yelled that more Peggies were on their way. “Are you fucking… Fuck.”

“I’ll take the plane. We’ll double-team these assholes.” He grinned when Alice gave him a slow thumbs up, and ran for the plane.

The fight was somewhat… Explosive.

On her own, she was able to clear the house of the few Peggies who were after Kim, and then she  _ ran _ to the hangar, knocking out the Peggies who were hiding in there.

Nick? Well, apparently he had modified the plane to carry  _ bombs _ .

And  _ boy _ , did he like using them.

She avoided them as well as she could - one blast knocked her off her feet, disorienting her. A Peggie used the opportunity to charge at her, and panicking - she shot.

There was too much blood.

_ Way _ too much.

Everything after that was a blur.

Nick called out a few more warnings, and she heard what sounded like a truck? Maybe? Some sort of vehicle - it exploded out on the runway.

It was quiet after that. Just the sounds of Carmina landing again, and Nick swearing when he saw her huddled against the bar.

“Hey. Allie.” The man crouched next to her, face pale. “Alice.”

“‘M fine. I - he’s dead.  _ I  _ did that. Me.” She took a deep breath, trying to stop herself from shaking. She  _ must _ have killed someone before then - but she hadn’t  _ seen  _ them die. She didn’t know them, she couldn’t see their faces as they registered what was happening, as their life left their body.

Nick carefully helped her up, and lead her into the house. “I’m going to - Kim, get Mary May back here. Tell her Alice needs her. Hey. Alice. Hey. We’re not going anywhere. Kim’s not gonna let me. We’re going to kick those Peggie’s asses together. John better watch his back!”

 

* * *

“I’ll be back after I close up the bar, okay?”

“May, I’m fine.”

Mary May looked at her friend, who was shakily leaning against the foot of her bed. “No. You’re not.”

“I - May, I have the cats, I have Boomer, I’ll leave my radio next to the bed. You’ll know if somethin’s wrong, I promise.”

“The instant something’s wrong?”

“I’ll radio before I - yes, the instant. I swear.”

“Fine. Grace should be back soon. You can tell her if you need something.”

Alice watched Mary May walk down the stairs, and then jumped up. “Hey May?”

“Yes?”

“Love you. Thanks for picking me up.

Mary May smiled. “Love you too.”

The moment she heard the front door close, Alice collapsed into her bed.

_ Everything _ hurt. If she was able to sleep at all tonight, she’d be happy. There was a bottle of aspirin in her kitchen but… Something in her told her to save that for later.

Or at least for when there wasn’t a cloud of green smoke in the corner of her room.

“Faith.” God, she was tired. “I… Can we not do this now?”

“You’re hurt.”

Oh. Faith was… Worried? “I didn’t think you’d care.”

“Of - Alice, did you think I wouldn’t care about you?” Faith padded over to the side of the bed, motioning to the edge. “May I?”

Alice nodded. She shouldn’t, she  _ really _ shouldn’t.

“Are you okay?”

“I will be.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

Did she?

No.

She didn’t.

Slowly, carefully, Alice pulled Faith into bed with her.

It’d be fine.

Just till Mary May came back. 

Alice fell asleep like that, curled into Faith’s side. She knew the other woman wasn’t  _ really _ there - the sickly sweet smell of the bliss confirmed that. It didn’t matter, though. For just a few moments - it was like it was before all this, before the cult  _ really _ got in their way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Managed to get this out before New Dawn! I am going to TRY and update again by next Friday - with the new game coming out, I can't guarantee anything, but it's my goal! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some run-ins with John, and Mary May asks a favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! Sorry this took so long to get out - first i played new dawn nonstop, then i caught the cold from hell and i had a lot of Super Emotional shit happen that kinda completely drained me. I should be back to a more regular schedule soon, but until then, I have lots of stuff about Faith and Alice on my tumblr! Same name as here :)

Breakfast at the Spread Eagle was starting to become a _thing_.

Alice had food at her house, yeah.

But there were _people_ at the bar, some looking for food, some posting notices offering help, and some who just didn’t want to be alone. Between her, Mary May, and Pastor Jerome, they were able to coordinate the resistance - a group at Woodson farm had gone radio silent, word had come in that Sunset Tidings and the Kellet’s farm had been taken over by groups of Peggies, and _so_ much more.

So many people were streaming in that Alice barely noticed a small woman - smaller than her, which was saying something - come up to the bar.

“Hey, Mary May. Is the Deputy here?”

“Elizabeth!” _Right_. That’s her name. Mary May looked relieved and motioned for Alice to come over. “We were getting ready to send someone to check on you. I was starting to worry.”

“I’m good. Sorta.” Elizabeth gave Mary May a strained smile, then turned to Alice. “I need your help with a small problem. John - that stupid fuck.”

Ah. _That_ kind of problem.

“I remember hearing your sister and him - they got married? So he’s your --”

“Brother in law, yeah. Unfortunately. What’s he doing?”

Elizabeth scowled. “I made a deal with him ages ago, back when he was really starting to buy up all the land in the county. Yesterday his people showed up telling me I needed to hand over my ranch. I need out. Look, I’m willing to do whatever to help the resistance - I have plenty of room for people to crash, I have a big kitchen, all that jazz. I just… I need out of this deal. I think I can do this, I just… Backup would be nice. And John knows you.”

“John _hates_ me.”

“Yeah. But - he might be a little more… I don’t know, cautious? Restrained? Less impulsive? If you’re there. I think it’s worth a shot, if you’re willing to help at least.”

Alice shrugged. “Fuck it. I feel like pissing him off. He - I can probably get us onto the ranch. Or have him meet us at my sister’s place.”

“Thank you. Seriously.” Elizabeth smiled. “Just… Let me know.”

* * *

 

An hour later, Alice was standing on John Seed’s front porch, Elizabeth by her side.

It was just them. No weapons, no backup - they were just across the road in the Bradbury’s farms, ready to come in guns blazing at a moments notice.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Yeah. I - I think I can do this myself. I just need someone near me. If I get nervous or something -”

“Yeah, I’ll be right there.” She placed her hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder, trying to be reassuring. “Look, there may be a lot of Peggies out there, but - well, there’s a lot of us, too. We’ve got your back. Uhm - you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Alice gave her a smile, and then knocked on the door. Seconds later, her sister opened the door, welcoming them in with a too-fake smile.  
“Claire! Miss - Maxwell, was it?” Jane glanced at Elizabeth, eyes narrowing. “My husband is in the dining room. Claire, if would follow me?”

Elizabeth took a deep breath, heading in the direction that Jane pointed. It was close, considering the size of the building, and within eyesight of the nook Jane lead Alice to - but really? Neither Alice or Elizabeth were comfortable with it. Alice tried to position herself so she could see across the room, but Jane - fuckin’ _Jane_.

Her sister was _determined_ to keep her distracted. Small-talk about the weather, about church (and how Alice _really_ should go with her this weekend, the Father would _gladly_ welcome her -), updates on the baby (good, everything normal, would Alice like to be told when she goes into labor?), and on and _on_ . When she had the chance to look over and check on Elizabeth - things seemed to be going well. John’s face seemed different, more lawyer than herald, and _serious_ for once, and Elizabeth… She was confident.

“Jane.”

“Claire?”

“Oh, for fucks sake, you - “

“That _is_ the name our mother gave you.”

“Jane, tell me _one_ time that mom called me Claire. One time.” When her sister was quiet, Alice sighed. “Is there anything you actually wanted to do? Or are you just distracting me?”

“I…” Jane sighed. “You don’t need to be part of that conversation. John and Miss Maxwell made the deal, they can discuss ending it.”

Alice sighed, leaning back in the couch. “Got it.”

The pair sat in silence for a minute, before Jane turned back to her. “You know what this is going to mean, right? Primrose Ranch won’t be safe anymore.”

“I think she knows that.”

“I just wanted to be sure.” Slowly, Jane stood up, extending a hand to her. “I want to show you the nursery.”

Alice shook her head. “I need to -”

“He’ll behave. If that’s what you’re worried about. This is business for him, he isn’t going to risk anything by being emotional.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

With a groan, Alice followed her sister upstairs, reluctantly accepting the tour - one that _carefully_ avoided anything sensitive, anyhing that could possibly be useful to the resistance.

Later, Elizabeth met her back outside, underneath one of the large oak trees.

“How did it go?”

“Perfect. He’s going - well, okay, not _perfect_ , but I’m not in business with him anymore, so… Perfect.”

With a quick glance over her shoulder, Alice scanned the front of the building for any sign of trouble. “Let’s get out of here before he changes his mind.”

* * *

“Mary May Fairgrave, I do _not_ like that look.” Alice crossed her arms, sighing. “I just got back! Lemme _eat_ something! Please!”

“Sorry, Alice, we just - Grace is on her way over, we have a situation developing.” Her friend didn’t even look up, keeping her attention on the counter she was cleaning.

“A situation.”

“A ‘John Seed is a dick’ situation. Again. He has this thing called the Revelator out on the roads - it’s like a tank mixed with a semi truck. Grace has some explosives that you guys can use, it’s just going to be _bad_ if that thing gets to town. Last I heard, it had gone past the Steele’s. It won’t be long till it’s here.”

“Can someone else go?”

Mary May set her towel down, staring at her friend. “Alice.”

“Mary May.”

“We’re stretched thin right now, you know that - everyone’s at Primrose Ranch or helping the folks at the pig farm. Look, I have some snacks you can take with you - you just need to leave _now_.”

Alice sighed, grabbing the cereal bars her friend handed her. “You owe me dinner.”

“Tell that to Elizabeth!”

* * *

Alice and Grace didn’t make it far before their walkie-talkies crackled to life.

“Alice? Fuckin’ hell, I’m sorry, but - I need help.”

Grace raised her eyebrow as Alice scrambled to find her radio. “May? What’s wrong?”

“I just - My dad’s truck. I found it. The fuckin’ Peggies have it at the grain elevator. I can’t leave the bar, though, I just -”

“May. You don’t even have to ask.” Alice dropped the walkie-talkie and sighed, resting her head against the truck’s window. “Grace, drop me here. I’ll hike down to the grain elevator.”

Grace glanced at Alice. “You sure?”

“Yeah. Pastor Jerome said there should be explosives in the back. Use those. I’ll - I’ll radio you when I’m safe.” Alice smiled and climbed out.

It would be a bit of a hike. _Absolutely._ But if Mary May’s first message was right, the resistance members needed help _now_ , not after she was dropped off near where the Widowmaker was being held.

The walk to the grain elevator was calm - a deer passed her by, paying no attention to her, and she saw a turkey chasing a stray Peggie… Which was weird, but really? Not the weirdest thing she’s seen in this county.

When the warehouse on the property came into sight… Shit. There were a _lot_ of Peggies there. How the hell was she supposed to get in without being seen?

“Hey May?”

Her radio crackled to life. “Alice! Hey!” Her friend sounded relieved, thank God - Grace must have handled the Revelator situation already. “Are you there yet?”

“Yeah, uh -” She scanned over the property, frowning. “Jesus, May, this place is insane. I can’t see the truck anywhere.”

“It should bein the warehouse. That’s the only place it _could_ be.”

“The heavily fortified and presumably locked warehouse?”

A pause. “Yeah. Fuck. Good luck, Allie.”

“I might need it…”

“I’ll see you when you get home.”

With a deep sigh, Alice switched her radio off and tucked it back in her backpack. If it was _anyone_ else asking for help with this, she would have asked Grace to take care of it.

But it _wasn’t_ anyone else. It was Mary May, and it was Gary Fairgrave’s truck that had been stolen. Gary and Irene had been like surrogate parents to her after the accident that killed her dad, and… Well, for him? It was worth facing her fear of driving. And of shooting.

And hey - she’d get to use two of the skills he taught her: driving a stick shift, and picking locks.

* * *

Getting in the warehouse was easier than it should have been - Alice kept looking over her shoulder, expecting the guard she had knocked out to get back up, or for someone to notice he was missing and come looking. As she climbed into the truck, she smiled, and pulled out her radio.

“Hey May? Looks like the fuckers left the key in the ignition. I’ll be back soon.”

“Hell yeah!”

Mary May’s enthusiasm was catching - she ran to open the garage door, then sprinted back into the truck.

Hearing classic Heart playing when she turned the truck on?

Well, that only made everything better.

* * *

 

Gary Fairgrave was a _genius._ Mary May radioed that her dad had put _machine guns_ onto the truck, and it seemed like he had added (minor) bullet-proofing, too. More than enough to slam through Peggie barricades, sending the trucks and Peggies scrambling to get out of her way.

Truck after truck followed her, chasing her from the grain elevator, past Red’s and Elizabeth’s ranch, then the Lamb of God and the driveway to John’s… At some point, between John’s and the Rye’s, they started to fall back, and then disappeared completely.

That was when she noticed the baseball cap on the dash - a distinctive red one, with “Cougars” emblazoned upon it.

Oh.

That hat featured heavily in her memories of the Fairgrave family from _before_ \- she had assumed that Gary was wearing it the day he died, and that it had just gotten lost in the struggle.

Mary May was waiting for her outside the Spread Eagle, smiling the first true smile that Alice had seen in months - she could almost hear her friend cheering over the sound of the engine.

“Holy _shit_ , Alice! You did it! My dad - he’d be so fuckin’ proud of you - of _us_ \- right now!” Alice gave her friend a shaky smile as she climbed out of the cab. “Like, you - God, Allie, you were _fantastic_ out there.”

“Hey May?” Alice shifted her weight, staring at a point just over her friend’s shoulder. “I, uh - I found something.”

Mary May’s smile faltered. “Is something wrong?”

“No, no, no I just - I found something. Your dad’s.” She started to put the hat in Mary May’s hands, then paused and placed it on her head. “He, uh - he would have wanted you to have that. I thought he had lost it before, y’know - “

Before she could continue, Mary May launched herself into her arms. “Thank you. _Thank you_.”

* * *

Okay, in hindsight?

Going fishing by herself was a bad idea.

Going fishing by herself after a cryptic radio call from her favorite brother-in-law? Even _worse_ of an idea.

“‘I can help you, Alice. I can wash away your sins, Alice. You belong with your family, Alice, your sister misses you so much.’ Go to fuckin’ Hell, John. Jesus, he couldn’t even come for me himself.” Alice winced when a Peggie kicked her abdomen, not-so-subtly hinting at her to shut up. “Tell your fuckin’ boss if he wants to talk to me, be a fucki-- Ow! Fine! -- be _polite_ and, i dunno, _come talk to me himself._ ”

The Peggies continued to ignore her, one coming closer with a syringe full of Bliss.

When she woke up, she was in the water.

“For only then may we stand in the light of God and walk through His gates into Eden.” Oh. John. A Peggie pulled her out of the water, starting to march her… somewhere, when John grabbed her arm. “Not this one.”

“Yes, Brother John.”

John sighed as he shoved Alice back into the water, repeating a prayer that she couldn’t hear. He kept her under, and under and -

Then she was out.

She coughed, trying to catch her breath, when she realised John wasn’t looking at her anymore. Joseph was standing on the shore, chastising his brother.

“Come to me, child.” Slowly, Alice got up, and marched towards Joseph. She didn’t _want_ to - it was like her feet were moving on their own, despite every part of her wanting to run away as fast as she could.  “Despite all that you have done, all the damage you have done, you are not beyond salvation. You’re here by the grace of God, Alice.” Joseph turned towards John, frowning. “This one shall reach Atonement, or the gates of Eden shall be shut to you, John.”

That _really_ didn’t sound good.

John said something, and then -

Black again.

This time, she woke up in the back of a van. She wasn’t alone - there were two other prisoners in the back with her, bickering about _something_ , and one Peggie, shifting his attention between the three of them.

“If we just _confess_ , it’ll be okay, right?” The guy next to her was panicking, glancing between her and the Peggie’s gun. “We just have to confess right away?”

The woman across from her rolled her eyes. “I’ve heard stories from down there. He’ll just make it worse.”

“Why?”

The Peggie leaned forward, making eye contact with the man. “Confession without pain isn’t a confession. You must confess your sin before John can peel it off. It’s a beautiful experience.”

“That’s _torture_. Fuckin’ Peggies.” Alice winced as the Peggie slammed his rifle into the woman’s head, silencing her.

She turned her head, determined to ignore everything around her, to find a way out, when she saw - was that - _fuck_.

Maybe trying to open the van’s doors while it was flying through the air wasn’t her best idea - but… Oh well.

When they finally opened,  just as the van settled, she was ready to kick and scream and just _raise hell_ until the Peggie decided she wasn’t worth it.

Except - it wasn’t a Peggie.

It was Pastor Jerome.

With a grim look on his face, Pastor Jerome finished reciting a prayer, then… Holy shit.

There was a gun in his bible.

_Holy. Shit._

“Stay with me, Alice. Mary May will kill me herself if anything happens to you.”

Alice gave him a weak smile, grabbing the hand he offered to her, letting him pull her out of the wreckage.. “Thanks, Jerome.” She glanced at the bodies behind her, face dropping. “I don’t think - I don’t think they made it.”

Pastor Jerome placed a hand on her shoulder. “We need to keep moving. We have a helicopter on the way, we just need to make it to a clearing.”

On the way up the mountain, the Pastor explained what had happened: first, why they were going _up_ the mountain (a rope bridge was up ahead, they _should_ be able to get across there), and also how they knew where she was. After they noticed she was missing, hours after she was supposed to be back at the Spread Eagle, her _sister_ of all people showed up at the Fall’s End Church.

Jane was worried. She knew her husband was a little… Temperamental. Particularly after the encounter with Elizabeth. Of course she wanted Alice to join the Project, but - she knew John would be harsher than he really _should_ be. Nobody could know that it was her that said where her sister was - she wasn’t afraid of John, but she didn’t want to risk Joseph taking the promise of a home in New Eden from her.

* * *

The fight at the security gate? Easy. Easier than it should have been. She didn’t know if that was John being merciful, or if he was toying with them.

Actually getting to the helicopter? Well, that was a shitshow. Alice tried to use the mortar _once_. After that, her and Merle made a deal - he shot the mortar, she shot at the feet of those who tried to make it across the bridge. Streams of people kept coming, weaving between previous mortar strikes and the bodies of the dead.

It felt like it took hours for the helicopter to arrive - but it _did_ . Her little group of rescuers scrambled in, with Alice tucked safely in the middle and Pastor Jerome ensuring no Peggies tried to sabotage the aircraft.. She _almost_ didn’t mind being in the air. Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small note - I originally intended for the scene with Elizabeth and John to be a lot longer/different - I kept getting stuck with it though, and I wanted to get this out, so I cut it down. I might write it (or a version of) at some point and post it on my tumblr, though! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting with her sister, and a trip to the Henbane.

Mercifully, the days after the baptism were  _ slow _ . Slower than slow, really - just Zip Kupka causing general mayhem, and Larry Parker being… Larry. 

There had been nothing  _ unusual _ from the cult, not even an annoyed message from John. Even when she had a little “fun” with Elizabeth, riding around the valley, setting fire to some of the cult’s supplies - nothing. The silence was almost worrying, but really? She didn’t care too much - it felt like  _ before _ . 

Fishing  _ finally _ seemed safe, and despite Mary May’s objections, Alice went down to the dock across from Nick’s. As weird as it sounds, this was the first time since everything started that she felt like she could  _ breathe _ . It had always been a relaxing hobby for her - ever since she was a little kid, and her dad would take her out on the river after her Girl Scouts meetings or the one disastrous ballet lesson.

The calm is precisely why she was so confused when one of John’s hunting parties showed up, knocking away her fishing rod (and her glasses, shit) and tossing a dark hood over her head.

Well, okay. She  _ assumed _ it was one of John’s search parties. She was somewhat close to his ranch, and nowhere  _ near _ his siblings regions - not that Faith would send a search party out after her. Well, hopefully. Maybe. The drive to wherever they took her was short, too, and eerily quiet. She could have been… At the little greenhouse, maybe? Possibly even Seed Ranch - John was just arrogant enough to have a little room there to “interrogate” people in.

It was just as quiet in the little room that she was roughly deposited in. After what felt like hours, she heard footsteps. Whoever it was -- John, she assumed -- came up to her and roughly yanked the hood off.

“What the fuck, John -” Alice froze as her eyes adjusted to the light. She couldn’t see details but - it wasn’t him. It was a woman, slightly taller than her, with long black hair - oh. “Jane…?”

“Hello, Alice.” Jane leaned against the wall, frowning. “I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t cause any more trouble?”   


“I mean, I was just fishing when the fuckin’ Peggies-”

“Project members.”

“The  _ Peggies _ captured me. But… Whatever you say.” She gave her sister a wary look. They hadn’t  _ agreed _ on anything the last time they had met - Jane had said she’d convince John to have the town proper be a safe zone, and Alice said she wouldn’t attack the ranch, at least if Jane was there, but everything else? She thought that was still fair game.

Jane sighed. “My husband has wasted a large amount of resources repairing the damage you’ve caused the last few days.”

God, it was still weird to hear Jane refer to John as her  _ husband _ \- it’d been nearly six months, and she  _ did _ refer to him as her brother-in-law, but… Still. Weird.

“Alice, I just need to know why you’re doing this. You know that we would welcome you - you just need to stop creating problems for the Heralds.”

“ _ I _ need to stop? Janey, I - they’re  _ crazy _ . John? Your dear husband? He  _ carves _ things into people. Jacob - “

“The one you slept with?”

“Fuck off, Jane.” Alice narrowed her eyes. “I’ve heard horror stories out of the mountains. What he does to his Chosen.”

“Ah, yes. Your act of  _ lust _ . You can atone for that right after you atone for your wrath.”

No comments on Faith. That was a good thing. “Jane, I - this is a  _ war _ . Your husband is torturing people. So are his siblings.”

“And you are destroying things that the Project has worked hard to collect. Things that could help  _ everyone _ in the county.” Jane sighed, pushing herself from the wall. “I’m sending you to complete your atonement.”

“Jane --”

Jane froze in the doorway. “Did you really think I wouldn’t find out that my dearest sister is a murderer?”

Oh.

_ That’s _ why things changed.

She hadn’t killed anyone - that she knew about, at least - since that day at the Rye’s. Someone must have died during the chaos after the crash - she’d tried her hardest to make non-lethal shots, but it was so  _ chaotic _ that night, and she… Well, it was best to not think about it. At all.

This, though?

It was  _ such _ a drastic change from the last time she saw her sister - almost as if if was  _ personal _ , now.

“Janey. They were attacking me. I…”

“And in town? What was that?”

“Jane, they were attacking our  _ home _ , our  _ friends _ ! Pastor Jerome, Casey, Heather - they’re  _ innocent. _ ”

Jane scoffed. “I notice you left out Mary May.”

She didn’t have anything to say for that - Alice knew how much trouble her friend had gotten into with the cult after her parents died. It had taken both her and Casey to convince Mary May to go to the clinic when her tattoo became infected, and she had driven her to the appointment to have it removed.

A knock on the door caught her sisters attention. Even without her glasses, Alice could see the flash of - fear? Annoyance?  _ Something _ , that came over Jane’s face, before her sister stepped backwards to talk to the man at the door. When she stepped back in - yeah, that was  _ definitely _ annoyance.

“Look.” Her sister sighed. “John isn’t happy with your recent… activities with Miss Maxwell. Get someone to watch the cats, and get out of the valley for a few days. I’ve heard rumors that the folks at the jail have caught Faith’s attention. They might need some help.”

“So you’re letting me go?” When her sister said nothing, she grinned. “Does John know you did this?”

“No, and he won’t find out, will he?”

Interesting. “Nope.” She was silent as her sister cut the ropes tying her to the chair, then cocked her head. “So… One question.”

“What.”

“By any chance, did any of your goons - sorry,  _ Chosen _ , pick up my glasses? Cause I can’t really go far without them…”

\---

Alice had barely made it into the Henbane when Faith appeared, standing calmly in the middle of the road. As her truck skidded to a stop, Faith smiled, slowly walking towards her.

“Fucking  _ hell, _ Faith.” 

“I thought you would be happy to see me?”

“Happy? I - yes, I am, I just... “ Alice slowly took her hands off the wheel, trying to control their shaking. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry, I just… I just hate driving. You know that.” She blinked when Faith opened the door of the truck, motioning towards the field next to the road. “Love?”

Faith smiled. “Follow me.”

“Faith, this -  _ Faith! _ ” The jail was  _ so close _ \- maybe half an hour and she’d be there, but… Watching the sunset with her girlfriend?

Yeah.

Whitehorse could wait a few more minutes.

\---

This felt  _ right _ . Faith curled into Alice’s arms, the pair leaning against a rock (Bliss field almost too close for comfort, Angels visible even through the flowers-) and silently watching the sunset. It was like it was  _ before _ , barely two weeks before, when they didn’t have to worry (as much?) about the vans of armed Peggies wandering the county, or the even more frequent kidnappings, or all of Alice’s friends being threatened.

“You’re finally in the Henbane.”

Alice looked down at Faith. 

“I’ve been waiting - I missed our time together.”

“I know.” She smiled, pulling Faith closer. “We - I can’t stay. Not long.”

“I have an idea.” Faith wriggled her way out of Alice’s grasp, jumping up. “Come with me.”

She looked at Faith’s outstretched arm, and shook her head. “I gotta get to the jail, Faith.”

“They can wait another twenty minutes.”

“Faith.”

“Please?”

With a sigh, Alice took Faith’s hand, and slowly stood up. “Twenty minutes?”

“I’ll even drive.”

\---

She  _ should _ be mad.

Faith had brought her to one of her little shrines, shooing away the Priestess stationed there before coming back to the truck. Cautiously, she stepped out, allowing Faith to pull her towards a bench,  _ just _ far enough from the leaking container of Bliss. 

“You’re heading to the jail.” 

Alice nodded. “Yeah - My sister told me they needed help, and I heard Virgil’s radio call on my way over. I figured… Well, I need to get the hell away from my sister. And I need to check on the rest of the county, I guess.”

“They’re going to tell you stories about me.” Faith fixed her gaze on the tank in the shrine, frowning. “That I lie, that I manipulate people. It’s not true.”

“Faith, even  _ I _ know -”

“ _ Alice _ .” She sighed and leaned into Alice’s side. “To some extent, then. Did I ever tell you how I came to be with the Project?”

“You haven’t talked much about growing up. Or coming here - like, I know you have family here, but… That’s it.”

“It’s not a happy story.”

Alice looked up at Faith. “If you’re trying to scare me off…”

“No, no - I…” The Herald took a deep breath, steadying herself before starting her story. “I wasn’t well-liked before I came to Hope County. My family was abusive, my friends only stuck with me for my family’s money, and nobody in our town seemed to  _ care _ . I - I couldn’t resist the temptation to turn to drugs -pot,  heroin, cocaine - anything I could get. I wanted to die. When I met the Father, though? He gave me  _ hope _ , he taught me to be confident again, he helped me come  _ clean _ . Nobody had cared enough about me before.”

_ Come clean _ ? Alice thought.  _ He just got you addicted to something else _ .

“I felt  _ welcome _ here. The Father and his brothers, the other Project members - they all welcomed me with open arms. One day, he brought me  _ here _ , to this mountain. He asked me if I would  _ die _ for him. At this point, I very much wished to stay alive, but - I had faith in him, and he had Faith in me. He saved me, Alice. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I hadn’t found the Project.” 

Alice’s hand brushed over Faith’s arm, pausing on the tattoo.

“It wasn’t John, if that’s --”

“It’s a reminder.”

She sighed. “Yeah.”

“Chemicals…?”

“Bliss. And -” Faith laughed - a sad laugh, Alice noticed, and she rested a hand on Faith’s thigh. “Cocaine. Same formula. Not on purpose, I swear. Just… To remind me of the past, I suppose. Of where I came from. So I won’t go back.”

“Faith -” Alice sighed as Faith stood up, jerking away. “Come here.”

“I want to show you the statue.”

“Faith -” She’d already spent a  _ lot _ more time away than she should have.

The Sheriff was expecting her - she  _ needed _ to get to the jail, at least to check in. 

But…

Okay.

\---

Joseph’s statue… Well, it certainly was  _ something _ . 

The tour was brief, really. Only a select few were permitted to enter the statue itself, Faith explained, and few who undertook the pilgrimage actually made it back to the statue. Not due to lack of faith, she said, but many simply… disappeared. Animals, most likely. Cougars were a common sight along the trail. When pairs of Faithful were able to accompany the pilgrims, they were much more likely to come back….

Faith kept on, explaining the importance of the statue, how it was built, and… Anything she could think of, really. Anything to keep Alice there with her. Somewhere she couldn’t be hurt.

Alice was only half listening, though: From where they sat under the gazebo, Alice could have sworn that she saw the Marshal out of the corner of her eyes, flitting in and out through the ever-present clouds of Bliss.

It couldn’t be him, though.

Could it?

She knew that Faith had the Marshal, of course - Dutch had told her that back in his bunker. There was no way that, at this point, she’d be able to go rescue him, not without the help of those at the county jail.

Besides,  _ Faith _ was the only one who could travel through Bliss like that. It was probably --

An explosion in the distance snapped Alice back to reality.

“Must have been a tanker truck. Wouldn’t be the first one that - well, your former coworkers -”

Alice gave her a started look. “Former? I -”

“I just mean - there isn’t really a formal sheriff’s department left, is there? Anyways, the Sheriff and his… Friends, I suppose, have sent a few tankers and trucks up already. A waste, I think. Gas is such a precious resource nowadays.” Faith put her hand on Alice’s hand as the woman stood, craning to see where the smoke was coming from. “Darling, sit down. It’s fine.”

Horror dawned across Alice’s face as she realised exactly where the explosion came from. “What did you do.”

“Alice, I’m sure it’s fi--”

“Fine??? Faith, that’s -” She took a step back. “Is that why you’ve been showing me all of this? To keep me away from the jail?”   


Faith frowned. “I didn’t want you to get hurt, Alice. You know that I lo-”

“ _ Faith _ .”

“Darling, please,” Faith’s voice cracked. “Sit back down. Just for a few more minutes. They - they can wait.” 

Alice shook her head. Her keys were in her pocket - Faith, out of habit, had handed them back to her when they arrived at the statue. For once, she was glad. “That’s my  _ family _ , Faith. I can’t let you get hurt.”

“I can’t let  _ you _ get hurt, Alice!” 

“ _ That’s not your job _ ! I - I need to leave.”

She wanted to look back. She did. But… She knew herself, she knew Faith - if she looked back? There’s no way she’d be leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. The last few months have been insane with family emergencies + health problems. Things have mostly slowed down so... Hopefully it won't take me two months to update again? I hope?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a conversation with erin, meeting hope county's favorite pyro, and an encounter with faith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a warning! I am still figuring out the path of the fic, but it's likely some tags will be changing when i post the next chapter - mostly just tags relation to canon compliancy, as uh... well, faith and alice aren't cooperating with me.

“Erin, don’t you even _try_ to get up.”

“Alice -”

“I’ll tell your dad.”

“Oh, that’s a _low_ blow.”

Alice shrugged. “I saw your back, Er - between that and your leg…” 

Erin settled back, frowning. 

The Lieutenant had come out of the fight at the jail a little worse for wear: bruising on her back from being pushed off (well, Alice didn’t really know), a sprained wrist, and a broken leg. 

“How are the kids?” Erin glanced at Alice, then the door the Sheriff had left through moments earlier. “I mean how are they _really_. Gabe just said they were safe, he was more preoccupied with the town. Dad - he’s… Distracted.”

Distracted, annoyed, worried, tired - pick one, Alice thought. “They’re fine. Really.”

“Alice.”

“I mean it, Er. Last I saw, Gabe was getting the shop cleaned up again and Sam was bored out of his mind, but Taylor’s having a blast annoying Casey.” She shrugged. “Might have a few nightmares, just because of the plane, but… Yeah. I think they’ll be fine.”

“The plane?”

“Yeah, a plane crashed in town.”

“ _What?_ ”

Whelp, that… Probably wasn’t the best way to phrase that. “It’s - I swear, it’s fine. I mean, the kids are, the shop is, the Spread Eagle - Uh, well, we’re just down a few houses. The old cafe and the Wilson’s place are totally gone, and the Carter’s house is pretty bad, but it could be rebuilt. I think. It’s still standing, at least. That’s about it. Oh, a bunch of John’s silos are gone, Elizabeth’s been helping me with that.”

“The horse girl?”

Alice nodded.

“I thought she was with John?”

“Nope. Well, not anymore, she had a deal with him but he let her out.”

“ _Let_. Alice-”

“Yeah, I know, I know. No deals with John Seed, etc. I think Jane helped.”

The protest on Erin’s lips died at the mention of Alice’s sister. “Is -”

“She’s fine. Tried to show me the baby’s shit. She’s the whole reason I came over here when I did - got in some shit with John, and she knows that my - uh - Well - ” Nope, not Faith, don’t mention Faith - Faith was half the reason Erin told her to come here, and not to the mountains, but… “She knows how much Whitehorse means to me and… Yeah. She’s fine. That’s what I was getting at.”

Oh, good going, totally not obvious at _all_. 

And judging by the look on Erin’s face? Yeah. Nope. Fuck.

“What’s going on, Alice??”

Her heart dropped.

She knew she couldn’t keep _this_ from Erin, not for much longer - but before this? Earl, Joey, and the Marshal were the only ones in the department (or department-adjacent, in the case of the Marshal) that knew that Alice’s girlfriend was _Faith-Faith_. 

“Alice?”

“So.” She took a deep, steadying breath. “You know my girlfriend?”

Erin gave her a strange look.

“I mean, know of. Uhm.” Another deep breath. “I was with her earlier. Before shit went down. Here, not like, in general.”

“Why does that matter?”

Here goes nothing. “It’s… kinda Faith. Like, Faith-Faith. Herald-Faith. Seed.”

“ _What?_ ” Her friend jerked up. “You’re dating -- Alice, _what the fuck_ . Does my dad know? How the fuck - Alice, _why?_ ”

“I - Erin -”

“ _Alice_.”

“Yeah, he knows. So does the Marshal. And... Uh, Joey, she figured it out. A while ago.”

Erin groaned, flopping back onto the bed. “What the fuck. Is - did - _you were with her?_ ”

“Not - she - Er, I’m not helping her. She just…”

“She what? Used you?”

“No!”

“Then why the fuck did it take you so long to get here? Dad - he said you called when you were crossing the river. It took you four fucking hours to get here --”

“I came as soon as I could -”

Erin gestured at her leg, then at the occupied beds surrounding them. “ _It wasn’t soon enough._ ”

Alice stood up with a start. “I tried, okay? She - I was -”

“You were what?”

“Erin, you know she has that bliss shit - she wasn’t _controlling_ me, I just… I thought it was an hour, max. She took me to that stupid statue, I saw the Marshal--”

“You _saw_ him?”

She sputtered. It was only for a second - was she _sure_ it was the Marshal?

“Alice.”

“Yeah. I saw Burke.” Even if she didn’t?

It gave the resistance hope. No matter how small, no matter how _unlikely_ it was that Faith’s people ( _Faith,_ a voice in her head whispered _, Faith, not her people_ ) had left him alive… It was still hope.

Erin collapsed back onto the bed, a faint smile on her face. “Good. Listen, Allie - you need to be careful out there.”

“Er, I --”

“I know you think you’re being careful, but you can’t trust her. Not now. You _know_ the rumors of how fucked things in this part of the county are, you _know_ about the Angels.”

“ _Erin_.”

“Alice, I’m serious. Everyone here knows how dangerous she is, and how much control she has over the Peggies. Not just in the Henbane.”

She was right - Alice knew that. 

As much as she trusted Faith, she knew she _shouldn’t_.

* * *

Okay, well, after the lecture from Erin… It was a pretty boring morning. As boring as a morning spent between the makeshift infirmary in the _actual_ infirmary of the former county jail that’s been closed for nearly a decade could be. The most excitement was when Alice half-suggested a game of poker, with Erin shooting it down immediately, suggesting a tamer game instead.

Virgil walking into the room, obviously exasperated, was a welcome break.

“Alice, if you’re free -”

She perked up. “What’s goin’ on?”

“Our doctor, Charles, hasn’t come back yet. Would you mind going and checking on him? Last we heard, he was out by the old mill, but he had mentioned needing something he’d stashed at the geothermal park.”

Why did she feel like she was going to be doing a lot of these runs? 

Still, it was something to do - as much as she liked Erin…

“Yeah, I can.”

It didn’t take long for her to pack up - someone had fueled up her truck (where they got the gas, she had no idea), and someone handed her a freshly charged walkie talkie that she shoved in her bag.

_Naturally_ , the instant she pulled onto the main road, the radio crackled to life.

“Hey Alice?”

Oh. She quickly pulled over, scrambling to pull the radio back out. “What’s up, Sheriff?”

“Got a call about the Moonflower. Mind checking it out on your way to check on Charles?”

The Moonflower - Jesus, the calls she’d gotten about that place _before_ the cult shit exploded. Sharky was a nice dude, yeah, but - chaotic was an understatement. 

If they were getting calls about his behaviour during all of _this_? Well, it was going to be an interesting trip.

“What’s he even doing?” She sighed, pulling back onto the road. “I’ll swing by on the way over. Maybe he’ll be willing to put his energy to good use, or whatever.”

The drive up to the park was… Too calm. Definitely. She passed a truck carrying bliss at one point, but they just _ignored_ her. Even when her radio sparked to life, startling a fox on the side of the road. Josh Denno had just checked in - he was going to head over to help Charles, and she could take as much time as she needed to help (deal with) the county’s favorite pyro.

Really, the calm was fine with her, but it’s still strange being public enemy number one for the cult, yet nothing happening when your well-known truck (thanks for letting the whole fuckin’ cult know about it, Jane!) passes a cult vehicle.

Faith was waiting for her at the turn into the Moonflower.

It was almost too easy to ignore the apparition.

* * *

How Sharky was walking on the roof, let alone running around as much as he was, Alice didn’t know. The metal bridges were nearly rusted through, and the roof itself… Well, she’s walked on _worse_ , in terms of rot, but still, she didn’t trust it. Still, Sharky eagerly beckoned, seemingly forgetting his “you’ll never catch me alive!” monologue moments before.

The man grinned when she finally reached him. “Welcome to the disco inferno, man! It’s my special place where I can just be me, without my PO or law enforcement watching - no offence, dude,” Sharky patted his flamethrower, grinning even wider when Alice shrugged. “Here I’m free to unleash my fire and mayhem in a pants-free, consequence free environment!”

Alice glanced down, noting the very obvious presence of Sharky’s jeans, and raised her eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, yeah, I have pants on now, but -”

“Hey Sharky?”

“Yeah, Dep?”

“I hate to rush you, but…” She sighed, nervously rubbing the back of her neck. “Sheriff wants me to check on a few other people after you. I’d love to do a bonfire sometime, but uh, what’s goin’ on?”

Sharky blinked. “Oh yeah! I got a sweet-ass sound system hooked up and ready to play the hottest music ever recorded. Every time I crank it up man, those dipshit cult angels -” He didn’t notice the panic flit across Alice’s face, thank _god_ \- “They just come runnin’ and runnin’ and I can’t tell if they love it or hate it! I’m tellin’ you, it sure is fun to melt their faces off!”

“Sharky, th-”

“Don’t worry man! The angels, they is already brain dead!” That’s not the _only_ thing that worried her, but… It’s almost reassuring to hear that. Almost. “I’m just givin’ them a glorious send off to disco heaven, man! You wanna help? It’s good fun, man, I swear. I promise not t’ tell your boss or anyone, and this is a strictly pants-optional zone -” He paused, face turning ever so slightly pink. “Not that I wanna see you with your pants off or nothin’, not that you aren’t super pretty, I’m just sayin - uh, Whatever makes ya comfortable, ya know?”

“I gotcha.” Alice laughed. “Look, I dunno if I want to _kill_ any of ‘em, but I’m more than happy to watch ya. Always up for some good music.”  Part of her knew Sharky was right - the people the angels used to be were long, long gone, with the bliss being the only thing keeping their bodies alive, but part of her hoped that there was a cure - that they could be brought back and be _normal_ again.

Oh, and there’s the part of her that - as upset as she was with Faith - really didn’t want to antagonize her powerful maybe-sorta-not really-possibly still girlfriend any more than she absolutely had to.

“I got your back if any get too close, though.”

Sharky’s grin was infectious. “All right, man! Let’s burn this mother down!”

He flicked on the music (jesus that was loud), and… Well, they went to work.

It was a surprisingly good workout, she thought to herself, though she really _could_ do without the constant up and down and up and down and oh shit there’s an angel about to grab her - and the fire, that she could _definitely_ do without. She likes fire, she does - just not that _close_. The music choices though? A+. She shouted that at him at one point, when she was frantically trying to shut off one of the speakers, before she realised he couldn’t hear her.

Finally, when the speakers were off and the remaining angels were taken care of, the pair collapsed on a bench together. 

“That was fuckin’ _fantastic_!”

Alice laughed. “Fuckin’ hell, Boshaw. Need to invite you to my next bonfire.”

The man grinned. “That was a fuckin’ blast, shorty.”

“Look, I really do gotta run and check on those people, but I”m goin’ back to the jail after - I know your history with the department isn’t… great… but I’m sure the Sheriff will be more than happy to look past everything, considering…” She trailed off, waving her hands in the direction of the downed angels.

Sharky shrugged. “I’m just gonna head on home and chill. That jail…”

She laughed. “Yeah, I get it. Fuckin’ creepy. For real, if you need anything, or if you wanna do this again - you know what frequency I’m on. You sure you don’t need help with the angels?” When Sharky shook his head, she smiled, and turned to leave. As she climbed into her truck, she paused, looking back over her shoulder. “Oh, and one other thing -”

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t call me shorty.”

Okay, small burn on her arm aside, that wasn’t _nearly_ as bad as she thought it was going to be.

* * *

 

The drive back was just as calm as the drive there.

She still didn’t like it, particularly not with the sound of gunfire coming from the geothermal park. Josh had radioed, telling her not to worry, but when did that every help anyone who was worrying? Never, that’s when.

She passed a few angels on the way back, trailing slowly after a pack of peggies. Nothing happened. They watched her, but… That’s it. No violence, no yelling, no angels chasing after her truck. Nothing.

Josh called again, letting her know that things were fine, they just had to get Charles’ bag out of a tree and then they’d be on their way back - comforting, but… **Not**. 

The Hope County Jail, though? _Chaos_. The burnt-out peggie trucks were being moved, some to create a perimeter (she thought?), some, with only a little bit of damage, were taken to the makeshift garage to be ripped apart for scrap parts for the Cougars vehicles. The bodies that had been strewn around the building were gone - she’d have to ask what happened to them. She didn’t really care about what happened to the peggies - but she knew the Cougars had lost a few people during the siege. Pastor Jerome would need to be called for them.

Overseeing it all were Virgil and Tracey, leaning against the railing on the Jail’s outer wall.

“Virgil!” Alice shouted up, “Up or down?”

He motioned to the little room at the corner. “Up!”

Tracey’s eyes followed her on the way up - the other woman had been wary of her since her arrival. Rightfully so, Alice thought - Faith had spoken of her former friend, and her dedication to the resistance. If Tracey found out about them? She’d be fucked.

“Jesus, that ladder is rickety.”

Virgil shrugged, leaning against the wall. “I want to get it replaced. Eventually. The inside has been the priority the last few weeks.”

People had been _living_ here. She kept forgetting that - the old jail had been abandoned for so long that yeah, beyond making sure it wasn’t actively about to fall off the building, it really wouldn’t be.

“So what did you want to tell me?”

She glanced out the window, spotting another truck pulling in. “Is that Josh and Charles?”

Virgil nodded.

“Huh. Guess the peggies weren’t bothering them, either.” When Virgil raised his eyebrows, she shrugged. “My only excitement today was with Sharky. Angels weren’t bothering me, neither were any of the trucks I saw.”

“That’s strange.”

“It’s fuc-- sorry, it’s just _weird_ . They’ve been so active the last few days, but now they’re just… Not. I know this is letting us regroup and sh-stuff but…” She trailed off. Faith wasn’t _mad_ \- well, she was, but - was this an olive branch? A chance to gather their dead, to organize themselves, to get the kids and everyone who couldn’t (or wouldn’t) fight to safety?

Virgil was saying something - about the previous activity of the cult, the people who had checked in, those who had decided to take refuge at the jail, a million other things. She vaguely heard him mention Laura Denno, eight months pregnant and looking all of it, moving in with her daughter, which explained the relief in Josh’s voice in his last call to her... 

Alice took a deep breath. Fucking - she _wanted_ to put it off, she didn’t want Virgil to know, but he _needed_ to. If he didn’t? It’d come back to bite her - and maybe the resistance - in the ass. “Listen, Virgil, there was something else -” Another deep breath. “I have to tell you something. Important. Not like -- ”

“Alice?” 

“I’m. Uhm. Well, my girlfriend - I dunno if I’ve told you about her? But uhm. We’ve been together for about a year. Her name’s Faith.”

“Faith…” She could _hear_ the worry in his voice.

“Seed.”

Virgl started.

“I know. Dangerous, stupid, going to get us all killed, etc…”

“Is this going to -”

She shook her head. “No. Never. I - you know my family’s history with the cult. If I have to break it off with her, I will. I swear. I love her but - well, if it’s choose her and good people die versus break up and people live? I’d break it off.”

Virgil gave her a long stare. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

It was the truth - she loved Faith (fuck - _love_ \- thats… Fuck. Why did she have to realise this _now_ of all times - ) but her home, and the people there, were more important than her love life. It would hurt - god, it would hurt - but… Yeah.

“Okay.” Virgil pushed himself off the wall, extending a hand. “Just… Be careful. You know how she is.”

“I know.” Alice smiled, pulling Virgil into a hug. “Thanks, Mayor. For everything. I mean it. Seriously.”

The former Mayor’s approval was _nice_. She didn’t expect it - Alice knew his son had joined Faith’s numbers, and had become an angel at some point, which… Yeah, that’s a perfectly valid reason to not trust her.

* * *

The next morning - well, it went just like all of the other mornings since she woke up in Dutch’s bunker: someone needed help.

Adelaide Drubman, of all people, radioed in saying that the Peggies were at her doorstep, and her and her sweet Xander wouldn’t be able to hold them off for much longer. Would they be able to spare that Deputy that Xander (and the rest of the county) had been raving about?

Alice knew the area well - her dad, before he died, had preferred the Drubman’s marina to any of the ones closer to town, despite her mom’s objections. Even without the swarms of Peggies surrounding the property, she knew the terrain would be… Difficult, to say the least, if they wanted to maintain the element of surprise. Backup would be necessary - and they knew just who to call. 

A little over an hour later, Alice stepped outside the walls of the jail, two thermoses of coffee in hand, sleepily watching Grace’s truck drive up to the jail. It was good to get out - the night had been too noisy, too stuffy, too _chaotic_ , even with Boomer’s calming presence by her side. 

The drive up to the marina was blissfully quiet - aside from brief updates from the jail and from town, both were content to sip their coffees and listen to the sole radio station (well, sole non-Peggie station) that was still able to make it through the mountains. 

She’d almost drifted off to sleep when the sudden jolt of the truck pulling off the road brought her to attention. “We there?”

Grace shook her head. “Almost. Marina’s over the next hill. I need to double check my rifle before we head over.” She nodded towards the building nestled between the trees, “Mind keeping watch for a few?”

Sleepily, Alice nodded, slipping out of the truck. “‘ll be right here.” 

“Alice.”

“I’m awake, I’m awake, I swear.” It was  _chilly_ \- even without the coffee, she'd have no trouble waking up.

The cottage’s door had hardly shut behind the sniper when a too-familiar figure - very real, but at the same time, not - appeared next to Alice, sitting on the hood of the truck.

“Faith, I thought we were done with this.”

Faith blinked. “Darling, I -”

“Want to talk, yeah, yeah. I _can’t_ right now, even if I _wanted_ to. Grace is -”

“Not here.”

Alice gave Faith - definitely a bliss ghost, this time, not _actual_ Faith, which showed how much the siren trusted her right now - a hard stare, motioning towards a nearby cabin. “She’s inside. Makin’ sure her rifle’s ready to go before we head north.”

“You’re going north?”

“Got a call from -” She stopped. What was she _doing_ ? Faith was the enemy. Telling her what their plans were - even if Faith was already _aware_ of the attack on the Drubman’s marina - was a stupid idea. Deadly stupid. “Someone asked for help. That’s all.”

Bliss-Faith stepped closer.

“Faith, seriously. I can’t.” She whipped around, crossing her arms. “You _know_ what you did. You’re not even _here_.”

“Will you listen to me?”

“I need to go, Faith.”

“Alice -”

She grabbed her pack, swinging it over her shoulder. “Not now. Not - I don’t know when, just… No. No.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "hopefully it won't take me two months to write chapter six!" i said, six months ago.  
> sorry about that guys <3 burnout's a bitch and so are continuing health problems, but i do already have chapter 7 started, so hopefully it won't take me ANOTHER six months to finish it haha


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